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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25875769">Unusual Lineage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurana/pseuds/kurana'>kurana</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aerith Gainsborough Lives, Bottom Tifa, Cunnilingus, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Lesbian Sex, Magical Pregnancy, Masturbation, Not Canon Compliant, Not Compilation Compliant, Post-Canon, Praise Kink, Semi-Public Sex, Top Aerith, Vaginal Fingering, more tags tba</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:09:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,828</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25875769</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurana/pseuds/kurana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the meteor, Tifa and her friends settle down in Mideel, picking up the fragments of their messy lives.  Everyone's left feeling directionless--especially Aerith.  Aerith survived an attack she wasn't supposed to.  Where does she even go from here?</p><p>Late one night, Aerith tells Tifa her troubles.  Aerith is the last living Cetra.  Following her brush with death, it scares Aerith to think of her species dying with her.  Aerith thinks she might like to have children.</p><p>That's all well and good.  But why is she asking Tifa to help her?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>113</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>308</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Apparently I am only capable of writing Aerti if it's complete trash.  LOL not even sorry</p><p>This is not compliant with the Compilation of FF7.  It only follows the original game.  That's why they're not living in Edge.</p><p>Aerith and Tifa both have cisgender/perisex female anatomy.  Cetra biology is just...special.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No sex in this chapter, just conversations and setup.  Sorry.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>All told, Mideel was an unlikely sanctuary.  The town was still recovering from Meteorfall, one of the worst hit by the Lifestream.  Some buildings were little more than patchwork huts on stilts.  The scent of mako hung on the air, sharp and electric, ozone tinged.</p><p>Tifa loved it anyway.  Its proximity to the Lifestream meant teeming wildlife, a rarity even back in Nibelheim.  Some of the trees conspired to sapience with their massive, top-heavy heights.  Birds with great feathers and greater talons roosted on the posts of the wooden bridges.  The first time she saw one, Tifa thought it was a monster.</p><p>Tifa even loved the bar she was managing.  It wasn't 7th Heaven, but it was small, and cozy, and the same patrons came in every night: old man Hephaestus, who sat in the corner giggling through his scotch; or Barret with fresh imports, or a request to watch over Marlene.  The routine was reliable.  It wasn't the life Tifa had imagined.  All the same, it was comfortable.</p><p>Aerith was Tifa's most frequent patron.  Tifa would be lying if she said she wasn't pleased about this.  The affinity she felt for Aerith had only increased since their world travels.  Tifa felt protective over her, too, which she thought inevitable.  Watching one's best friend survive near impalement on a sword inspired all sorts of instincts, protectiveness not the least of them.</p><p>Which was why Tifa was watching Aerith's alcohol intake tonight.</p><p>"Come on," Tifa said, her elbows on the sanded wooden bar.  "I think that's enough Applejack for one night."</p><p>"I'm not even buzzed!" Aerith yelled.  She waved her empty glass around.  Mischief glinted in her eyes, that old fallback of hers.  She looked cute in her long pink skirt, a sleeveless white top clinging to her sweaty torso.  Mideel was humid all year round.</p><p>Tifa blew a strand of hair from her eyes.  She smiled with indelible fondness.  "I don't want to see you forget your way to your house again.  Remember the last time, when you woke up in the water reservoir?"</p><p>Aerith giggled impertinently.  "I meant to do that.  Honest."</p><p>The truth was, Aerith was the best thing about Mideel.  It helped that she livened any place she visited.  Tifa couldn't imagine the past few months without her.</p><p>"Okay," Tifa relented.  "I'll give you one more."</p><p>If it happened to be watered down, it was nobody's business but Tifa's.</p><p>Aerith sat at the bar the whole night, snacking on salted nuts, occasionally singing with the radio.  The peripheral glimpses Tifa caught of her were heartwarming.  Eventually, the time came when Aerith was the last patron.  Tifa shut off the backlights behind the drinks.</p><p>"C'mon," she said.  "You can help me lock up, and then I'll walk you home."</p><p>Aerith squirmed on the bar stool.  Tifa checked at that.  It was rare to see Aerith anything less than composed.</p><p>"What's up?" Tifa asked.  "Are you trying to avoid someone?"</p><p>"No," Aerith said.  "It's not that..."</p><p>Aerith uncrossed her legs.  She pursed her lips, looking Tifa in the eye.</p><p>"Could I stay with you tonight?" she asked.  "I just don't want to be alone right now."</p><p>Tifa felt a pang of sympathy.  Tifa still had nightmares about Sephiroth, and she had never had his sword jammed in her back.  She could guess what was on Aerith's mind.</p><p>"Sure," she said.  "You go on upstairs.  I'll catch up."</p><p>Tifa listened to Aerith's footsteps retreating.  Small and dainty, they pattered on the staircase like falling rain.  Tifa drew a deep breath.  The both of them had come very close to not having this.</p><p>Once the bar was clean and tidy, Tifa followed Aerith upstairs.  Her apartment was spartan, but immaculate.  The wall bore a few calligraphy scrolls, gifted to her by her old teacher, Zangan.  Bamboo stalks grew from a ceramic pot.  Aerith had given Tifa the plant.  She said the shoots were good for cooking.  Tifa couldn't bring herself to cut it up.</p><p>Aerith was sitting on the hardwood floor.  She had borrowed a pair of Tifa's pajamas.  They were gray and fuzzy, little rockets on the shirt.</p><p>Tifa smiled.  "Cute.  Maybe you should keep those."</p><p>Aerith playfully showed Tifa her tongue.  "Maybe I will."</p><p>A moment later, Aerith fell silent, running her hands over her braid.  Tifa was starting to worry.  Aerith was the kind of person who filled in silence with chatter and anecdotes.</p><p>"You okay?" Tifa asked softly.  "You want to talk about it?  Whatever it is."</p><p>Aerith wrinkled up her forehead.  "Maybe.  Do you think you could get me a cup of tea, Tifa?"</p><p>"Of course," Tifa said at once.  "With mint, the way you like it."</p><p>Aerith gave Tifa a real smile.  Tifa released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.</p><p>One fairly strong cup of tea later, Aerith and Tifa knelt together on the hardwood.  Tifa lost her breath again--this time from laughter.</p><p>"Oh, quiet!" Aerith said.  "It's a true story!  I wanted to know how it felt when cats did it."</p><p>Tifa wiped the tears from her eyes.  "And that's a good reason to smoke a bowl of catnip?"</p><p>"It doesn't even do anything," Aerith said.  "I don't know what the fuss is all about."</p><p>Tifa placed her empty teacup on the floor.  "I don't understand you sometimes, Aerith.  But that's what's so great about you."</p><p>Aerith tipped her head back.  She sighed pleasantly, her eyes closed.  The angle made her pajama shirt rise up over her belly.  A rigid scar sat west of her navel, red and angry from the tip of Sephiroth's sword.</p><p>Tifa felt cold.</p><p>Aerith folded her hands on her lap.  "Talking to you is the only time things feel normal again.  It's the only time that I..."</p><p>Tifa reached across the distance.  She took Aerith's hand on her lap.</p><p>Aerith opened her eyes.  She looked frightened.  "He almost ended everything," she said.  "Not just my life, but the entire planet."</p><p>Tifa squeezed her hand.  "He's gone, Aerith.  He's never going to hurt you again.  I promise."</p><p>"What about you?"  Aerith smiled feebly.  "He took your father from you.  He took a lot of things from you, really.  It doesn't seem fair that you can't get them back."</p><p>Tifa's heart settled in the region of her stomach.  She lined up her fingers with Aerith's.</p><p>"I guess," she finally said, "that means I have to hold on to the things I still have.  I can't ever let them out of my sight."</p><p>Aerith looked at her.  Tifa found her gaze unsettling.  There was something probing about it, as if she saw things regular humans couldn't.  Aerith was no regular human.  Her unusual lineage was the least remarkable thing about her.  Tifa was more taken by her brazen humor, her whip-smart instincts.  She was a princess for the modern ages, raised in the gutter, reared on refuse.</p><p>Tifa grabbed their cups.  "I'll go clean these.  We should probably get some sleep."</p><p>"Okay," Aerith said.  She uncrossed her legs, standing up.</p><p>Tifa took longer than necessary in the kitchen.  She listened to the water hissing in the sink, a faraway, abstract sedative.  Something was charged in the air tonight.  Tifa couldn't tell what it was, or whether it would end well.</p><p>By memory, she padded her way to the bedroom.  It was dark inside, Aerith's shape indistinct on the bed.  Tifa's eyes slowly adjusted.  Aerith pulled the blankets down to make room for her.</p><p>Tifa changed into a t-shirt and boxer shorts.  She climbed into bed.  "Night, Aerith."</p><p>"Good night," Aerith said.  "I want to have babies."</p><p>Tifa settled on her back.  It took her a minute--maybe two.</p><p>Tifa bolted upright.  She pulled the drawstring on her lamp with a click.  "Uh?"</p><p>Yellow light washed over Aerith.  She turned on her side, her loose hair getting caught underneath her.  "Babies," she repeated.</p><p>"I heard you the first time," Tifa said.  "Babies?  What...?"</p><p>Aerith sat up slowly.  She tsked.  "Is it so weird that I'd want to have them?"</p><p>"No," Tifa said, reeling.  "I mean, maybe.  I don't know.  Are you even seeing anyone?  I'm pretty sure you're not."</p><p>Aerith combed her long tresses over her shoulder.  "If I wait for <em>that</em>, it might never happen."</p><p>Tifa couldn't believe this was a real conversation.</p><p>"Aerith...you've <em>never</em> mentioned anything about wanting kids.  Cid and Shera announced they were trying, and I'm pretty sure you said, 'That's just going to make you fat.'"</p><p>Aerith wriggled around on the bed.  "Yeah, but not for long!"</p><p>"I don't know if you're thinking straight.  Don't you want to fall in love first?  Find the right person to build a family with?"</p><p>Aerith balled her hands in the bedding.  "You don't get it!"</p><p>"Clearly not," Tifa said, startled.  "What even prompted this?"</p><p>Aerith looked like she was going to cry.  "I'm sick of being the last one!"</p><p>Her voice rang between them, strained with grief.  Tifa didn't know what to say.</p><p>Aerith's shoulders folded.  "I'm the last Cetra, Tifa.  When I'm gone, there won't be anymore."</p><p>How lonely it must have been.  Tifa reached for Aerith's shoulders, gripping them.  Aerith went easily in Tifa's arms.  Tifa held her tightly.</p><p>"Honey," she said.  "One day, you're going to fall in love with someone wonderful.  The rest will follow.  I promise you."</p><p>Aerith pulled back.  She looked Tifa in the eye.  "I can't wait for something that might never happen.  We almost <em>died</em>.  I know Sephiroth's gone, but he's really not.  I can feel him clogging up the veins of the planet.  Sometimes I can even feel him in my back.  Isn't that crazy?"</p><p>Tifa shivered.  "It's not crazy at all."</p><p>Aerith bunched up the blanket around her.  "If he had killed me, that would have been the end of my race.  I've been thinking about that a lot.  I can't take that chance again."</p><p>Tifa thought the important thing now was to calm Aerith down and get her to sleep.  She coaxed Aerith on her back, then tucked her into bed.</p><p>"We'll talk in the morning," Tifa said. "You'll feel much better."</p><p>She might feel embarrassed, Tifa thought.  Then again:  It was Aerith.  Aerith was the very definition of shameless.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Tifa woke early the next morning for a quick jog around Mideel.  When she went back to the apartment, damp with sweat and dew, Aerith was still asleep.  Tifa made them a hasty breakfast of rice soaked in tea.</p><p>Aerith stumbled into the sitting room twenty minutes later, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.  Her impossibly thick hair bore knots and split ends.  Tifa made a mental note to lend her some detangler.</p><p>"Morning," Tifa said brightly.</p><p>Aerith dropped down on a cushion on the floor.  She reached greedily for one of the warm bowls.</p><p>They ate together, interjecting comments about their friends, or the recent political climate.  Reeve was almost singlehandedly performing damage control for Shinra.  Tifa didn't know how the company ever expected to save face, or what they would market without mako energy.  Yuffie was home in Wutai, shaving years off of her father's life.  Tifa fully anticipated Godo sending Yuffie back to Mideel with a white flag.</p><p>"I kinda miss it," Aerith said, smiling.  "When all of us were traveling together."</p><p>Some of their friends had fallen off the radar.  Nobody knew where Vincent was, or what he was doing.  Tifa suspected Vincent preferred that.  Tifa didn't even want to think about Cloud.  He was so busy castigating himself for Sephiroth's crimes, he had become something of a hermit.</p><p>It was almost as if the rest of them hadn't suffered, too.</p><p>Still, Tifa thought, Mideel was good.  Mideel was the best they were going to get.  Cid, Shera, Barret, and Elmyra were all a stone's throw away.  Marlene came around for frequent playdates.  Even Nanaki made visits when time allowed, and he wasn't busy protecting the Cosmo Candle.</p><p>"Hey, Tifa," Aerith said.  "How about helping me have a baby?"</p><p>Tifa choked violently on a mouthful of rice.  She hacked it back into her bowl.</p><p>Aerith slapped her on the back.  "Easy does it!"</p><p>Tifa massaged her throat.  Her eyes burned.  "Aerith!"</p><p>"What?" said Aerith innocently.  "I told you, I'm serious about this!"</p><p>Tifa gulped down a quick drink of water.  Her chest felt sore.  "Aerith, I'm not going to help you find a hookup so you can get pregnant!"</p><p>Aerith gave her a bland look.  "I don't want help finding somebody.  I want <em>you</em> to have a baby with me."</p><p>It was all too much to unpack so early in the morning.  Tifa wondered if Aerith was teasing her.  Aerith's sense of humor often bordered on the inane.</p><p>"Um..."</p><p>"Oh, come on," Aerith said breezily.  "We're best friends.  Who better to raise a kid with?"</p><p>Tifa coughed meekly.  "That's a big commitment for best friends to make.  I was under the impression you wanted to raise a biological child?"</p><p>"Well, sure," Aerith said.  "To start with, anyway."</p><p>This was a joke, Tifa decided.  Aerith's stoic delivery proved nothing, except that she was committed.</p><p>"Oh, that?" said Aerith, still talking.  "It doesn't matter that we're both girls.  I'm not a human, Tifa.  I think you keep forgetting that."</p><p>Tifa took a second obligatory drink of water.  "It's impossible to forget.  Aerith, what...I mean, why..."</p><p>Aerith was unblinking, smiling.  "Don't you remember when Hojo had me locked up in that laboratory?  Something he said always stuck with me.  He said Cetra gametes are highly adaptive.  They can synthesize with any available DNA to make a viable zygote.  Doesn't have to be the other sex.  Doesn't even have to be another Cetra."</p><p>Tifa said slowly, "And you took him at face value? Hojo, of all people?"</p><p>Aerith shrugged her shoulders.  "There had to be some truth to it.  My mom--my original mom, I mean--she always told me I would have had two grandmothers, if her mothers had lived.  I think Cetra were so persecuted across history, they had to evolve so they wouldn't die out."</p><p>Aerith was not joking.  It seemed unfathomable, but it was true.  Aerith wanted Tifa to have children with her.</p><p>Tifa was pretty sure she was going to pass out.</p><p>"Oh," Aerith said suddenly.  "What time is it?  I can't be late for work again--I already missed two days last month!"</p><p>In a whirlwind, she stacked their empty rice bowls, carrying them to the kitchen.  Tifa stared at her knees, stupefied.  Blood rushed in her ears in noisy waves.</p><p>Aerith bustled out of the kitchen.  "I'm going to shower and get dressed.  I'll see you later tonight, okay?  You can tell me what you think, if you think anything.  I'm not going to be mad if you say no."</p><p>"Um," Tifa said.  Her tongue felt stuck to the roof of her mouth.</p><p>Aerith blew Tifa a noisy kiss.  She stampeded into the bedroom, much too exuberant.  It figured she would be a morning person.</p><p>Tifa picked up a cushion on the floor.  She screamed into it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aerith and Tifa discuss Aerith's proposal.  Tifa has to make a decision.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is officially the longest I've gone without throwing them at each other</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Come on, Tifa!  Let's play on the swings!"</p><p>Tifa was watching Marlene today while Barret delivered goods outside Mideel.  Marlene tugged on Tifa's hands, bouncing in her pink sandals.</p><p>Tifa chuckled, tugging back.  "Okay," she said.  "If you can swing higher than me, I'll give you a present."</p><p>They walked together to the playground, Marlene slowing to a trot.  Children spun on the roundabout, a whirling red blur.  Stooped trees shaded the area, fat with broad, wet leaves.  In the break between them, Tifa saw windmills.  The metal fan blades glinted silver in the sun.</p><p>Marlene hopped up on a rope swing.  She sat on the big knot, kicking her legs.</p><p>Tifa took the swing beside hers.  She wrapped her hands around the rope.  "Ready?"</p><p>Marlene gave her a robust nod.  "Yeah!"</p><p>They kicked off the ground.  Tifa took great pains not to outstrip Marlene, digging her heels in the dirt.  Marlene swung higher and higher.  Tifa worried about her falling, but the grass was soft and loamy.</p><p>Marlene tired first.  She was giggling when they tumbled to the grass, breathless.  Tifa tickled her sides.  Marlene relented, tucking herself against Tifa's front.</p><p>They played for an hour more, knotting bracelets out of daisies, counting the clouds in the sky.  Eventually, Tifa stroked Marlene's head.</p><p>"C'mon," she said.  "Let's head back to my place.  I'll give you your present, and then we'll wait for your dad to come home."</p><p>They were holding hands when they left the playground, Tifa gently swinging Marlene's.  Tifa thought how lucky Barret was to come home to her every night.  There was something a little magical about being responsible for a child's well-being.</p><p>Tifa bit her lip.  She thought unwillingly about Aerith's proposal the prior night.</p><p>"Nuts," she whispered.  "Absolutely nuts."</p><p>She took Marlene to the bar, where she made her a strawberry milkshake.  This early in the evening, it was empty.  Marlene gave herself a foamy pink mustache.  She asked Tifa to play music on the jukebox.</p><p>Barret arrived an hour later.  Marlene squealed, throwing herself around his neck.</p><p>Barret grinned at Tifa over the top of Marlene's head.  "That never gets old," he said.</p><p>Tifa smiled warmly.  "Want something on the house?"</p><p>Steadily, customers were arriving, Tifa's regulars among them.  Tifa recognized the strange lady who carried a cactus everywhere, the schoolteacher who always fell asleep by his second drink.  Tifa's stomach tightened.  If the schoolteacher was here, that meant Aerith, his coworker, wasn't far behind.</p><p>"Hi, Barret!  Hi, Marlene!"</p><p>Right on time, Tifa thought, releasing the taps.</p><p>Aerith sauntered in in a long, lightweight blue dress.  She gave the two of them kisses, then clambered up on a bar stool.  Her sandals were white and strappy tonight.  Tifa wondered why she was dressed so nicely.</p><p>Tifa amended:  Aerith always dressed nicely.  It was just that Tifa was paying attention.</p><p>Barret tousled Aerith's hair.  "Can't stay long," he said.  "I've gotta get this one home and fed!"</p><p>He lifted Marlene with a single arm.  Marlene swung from the crook of his elbow, giggling.</p><p>"Come and visit me sometime," Aerith said.  "Maybe next week?  I'll make dinner for the two of you!"</p><p>Tifa cringed inwardly.  Aerith was a woman of unusual talents, but cooking wasn't one of them.</p><p>Once Barret and Marlene had left the bar, Aerith turned her sights on Tifa.  Tifa gulped, her nerves shot.</p><p>"You look pale," Aerith said.  "Well, paler than usual.  What's got you so anxious?"</p><p>Tifa lowered her voice.  "I think you know the answer to that, Aerith."</p><p>Aerith spared a glance for Tifa's assistant bartender, a gangly boy named Rodney.  Rodney was a redhead, and wore more earrings than was strictly necessary.</p><p>Aerith looked at Tifa.  "Why don't you take the night off?  I've always said you work too much."</p><p>Tifa laughed.  "Aerith, you think three days in a row is too much."</p><p>"Well, it is!" Aerith insisted.</p><p>Tifa never would have entertained the thought, except for two things:  She really was anxious, and she really wanted to talk to Aerith.  She bit her lip, performing a cursory scan of the bar.  It was a slow night.  Ariadne, the waitress, sat alone at a table.  She folded and refolded the same batch of napkins.</p><p>Tifa peeked at Aerith.  "Maybe we can slip away for an hour or two.  You...you owe me that, don't you think?"</p><p>Aerith winked at her.  "If you're that eager to get me alone..."</p><p>Tifa couldn't believe the nerve of her.  Tifa felt her face heating to a scarlet blaze.</p><p>She stammered out instructions to Rodney.  She whisked off her apron, hanging it on a hook.  It was miraculous that Aerith hadn't died months ago.  But she might just prove the death of Tifa.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Aerith made herself at home in Tifa's sitting room.  She knelt on a cushion on the floor, watching Tifa brightly.  Tifa hovered, then joined her.  The muffled sounds of music and laughter rose up through the floorboards.</p><p>"Aerith," Tifa said shakily.  "Having a kid is a huge deal.  <em>Especially</em> the way you want to do it."</p><p>Aerith peered owlishly at Tifa.  "What do you mean?  I don't see what the fuss is about."</p><p>She had to be doing this on purpose.  Aerith was so much of a gadfly, she probably didn't know how to turn it off.</p><p>"We're both women," Tifa said.  "If...<em>if</em> we did this...people would have all sorts of questions for you.  'Who's the father?  Where is he?'"</p><p>Aerith reached for and jostled Tifa's hand.  "I'll tell them it's a virgin birth!"</p><p>Scratch that, Tifa thought.  Aerith <em>definitely</em> didn't know how to turn it off.</p><p>"No," Tifa said.  "If I bring a kid into this world--with you, or anyone else--I want to be a part of his or her life.  I can't not do that, Aerith.  Do you understand?"</p><p>Aerith was watching her, impassive.</p><p>Tifa balled her hands on her knees.  "I know what it's like to be an orphan.  I lost my mom when I was eight.  My dad died when I was thirteen.  I still miss them.  I never want to make a child feel that way.  Not--not if I can help it."</p><p>Aerith grabbed her hand again.  This time, Tifa welcomed it.</p><p>Tifa drew a deep breath.  "How would we even do this?  I mean...what I mean to say is..."</p><p>"You want to know if we would have sex," Aerith surmised.</p><p>The room felt so hot, Tifa contemplated pouring a glass of water, just to see if tea would steep.</p><p>"That's the only way I know of," Aerith said bluntly.  "It's what my mom's moms did, and what Hojo wanted me to do."</p><p>The logistics of this were dizzying.  "But I haven't got a..."</p><p>Aerith stifled laughter.  "It doesn't matter, does it?  Sex involves a certain amount of fluids.  We're presumably going to exchange them."</p><p>She must have noticed how mortified Tifa was.  She prodded her knee.  "It's not your first time," she said.  "Is it?"</p><p>"Of course not," Tifa muttered.  "I've done it before.  Twice, even."</p><p>Aerith gazed at her skeptically.</p><p>Tifa put her hands up.  "I really have!"  She lowered them.  "But they were both guys, and they were both--um.  Not very good?"</p><p>Aerith shuffled closer on her knees, conspiring.  "How bad did they suck?"</p><p>Tifa groaned at the recollection.  "One guy couldn't get it all the way in.  I was kind of--dry.  And the other, he...he fell asleep in the middle of it."</p><p>Aerith's eyes were as wide as tea saucers.  She looked Tifa up and down.  "How could a guy fall asleep on <em>you?</em>  I mean, look at you!"</p><p>If she was trying to set a record for making Tifa blush, she was winning.</p><p>"That's another thing," Tifa whispered.  "I've never been with a girl.  So I don't know how..."</p><p>Aerith flapped her hand at her.  "I'll coach you through it."</p><p>Tifa swallowed dryly.  "You've been with other girls, then?"</p><p>Aerith gave her a shrewd look.  "Let's just say I've had more than two partners, and leave it at that."</p><p>It was a fair stance to take.  Tifa didn't want to psyche herself out with her own inexperience.</p><p>Tifa pulled her hair taut with nervous hands.  "I'm...scared."</p><p>"Why?" asked Aerith, sounding genuinely concerned.  She put her hands on Tifa's knees.</p><p>Tifa sighed.  "You're my best friend, and I don't want things to change, or--or become weird.  And I can't see any way of avoiding that if we...have sex."</p><p>Aerith shrugged her shoulders.  "Why does it have to be weird?  We've undressed in front of each other before.  I know what you look like naked."</p><p>"Aerith!"</p><p>"Touching is just one step up from that, isn't it?"</p><p>Maybe Aerith could bring herself to look at it so casually.  Tifa couldn't.</p><p>"Why me?" Tifa finally burst out.  "We have other friends.  Why am I the one you're trusting with this?"</p><p>Tifa cut to the heart of the matter, the real question she wanted to ask.  "Why me and not Cloud?"</p><p>The very mention of his name brought gravity to Aerith's face.  She sat with her shoulders a little stiffer.</p><p>"I'm not what Cloud needs," Aerith said.  "And he's not what I need.  Teasing him and flirting with him were fun, sure.  But I kept seeing somebody else when I looked at him.  I was only trying to hold onto the past."</p><p>It struck Tifa, impossibly, that they shared the same predicament.  Hadn't Tifa been clinging to the past, too?  Cloud was the last living remnant of the childhood she'd had ripped away from her.  It wasn't right to foist that responsibility on him.</p><p>It wasn't right to be disappointed in him when he failed to live up to his memory.</p><p>Tifa put her head down.  She laughed with disbelief.  "I can't believe I'm seriously considering this..."</p><p>Having children wouldn't bring back the family she'd lost.  Tifa was aware of that.</p><p>But it would expand it.  She remembered the way it had felt when her father would carry her on his shoulders.  She remembered her mother curling up with her in bed, comforting her through nightmares.  She could very easily give that to a little boy or girl.</p><p>Aerith tilted her head minutely.  "You still think it would be weird?"</p><p>Tifa bit her lip.  She cast her eyes away, nodding.</p><p>Aerith reached for her chin.  She turned her head gently, commanding her attention.  Tifa jolted at the sensation of her fingers, the smoothness of her skin.</p><p>Aerith smiled brilliantly.  "Then how about we do something to test the waters?  If it's super weird, we'll stop, and I'll never bring this up again.  But if it isn't..."</p><p>If it wasn't, then what?</p><p>"Test the waters how?" Tifa asked skittishly.</p><p>Aerith pushed her braid over her shoulder.  "How about we try kissing each other right now?"</p><p>Something so simple sounded cataclysmic.  It might as well have been, Tifa thought.  It effectively meant the end of the world, or at least the world in which they hadn't crossed this line.</p><p>Aerith was staring at Tifa expectantly.  Tifa's pulse tightened in her wrists.  Her hands curled up on the hardwood, the silence bordering interminable.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tifa agrees to try things out.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I didn't mean to take so long editing this, mb</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Okay," Tifa whispered.</p>
<p>Seconds of silence stretched between the two.  Tifa listened in realtime, the clock hands ticking on the wall.</p>
<p>Aerith smiled subtly.  "So we're doing this?"</p>
<p>"Only kissing," Tifa stammered.  The very thought was unbelievable.  "Just--just to see how it is."</p>
<p>"Right," Aerith said.  "We're testing the waters."</p>
<p>Tifa drew a deep breath.  She closed her eyes.</p>
<p>Aerith giggled wickedly.  "What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"Aren't you--aren't you supposed to close your eyes when you kiss?"</p>
<p>Aerith hummed noncommittally.  "You can," she said.  "If that makes you feel better."</p>
<p>At this point, Tifa was only trying to keep from passing out.</p>
<p>Tifa felt Aerith's hands on her shoulders.  Despite her nerves, they anchored her, a solid, comforting presence.  She heard the rustling of clothes as Aerith slid closer.  She swallowed, her throat dry.</p>
<p>Aerith's lips were soft when they came.  They slotted expertly against Tifa's.</p>
<p>It was strange, Tifa thought--not because it was Aerith, or because it was a girl, but because it was a kiss.  Tifa had so seldom been kissed, she had forgotten the feel of it.</p>
<p>She didn't think it had ever felt like this.  Warmth spread between them at the point of contact.  It melted like honey down Tifa's spine.  Aerith seemed to know all the ways to fit against her.  Her hand came down on Tifa's thigh, her knee brushing against Tifa's.</p>
<p>Then--her lips moved.  Such a simple gesture proved explosive.  Tifa breathed in, a sharp inhale.  Aerith took it for permission.  Her hand rose up to Tifa's shoulder, kneading it.  She brushed Tifa's hair back, then cupped her neck.</p>
<p>Tifa's limbs uncoiled.  The line of her spine went rubbery, slack.  She wasn't aware how stiffly she held herself until Aerith decided to chase it away.</p>
<p>Aerith sucked on Tifa's lip.  That, Tifa thought, might have been her undoing.  Heat and dizziness combined in a potent cocktail.  Tifa made an embarrassing sound, halfway between sigh and moan.</p>
<p>Aerith couldn't have heard that--could she?</p>
<p>Of course she had, Tifa thought grimly.  Aerith leaned back, giggling.</p>
<p>"Wow," Aerith said.  "I know I'm good, but thanks."</p>
<p>Tifa wrenched open her eyes.  Colored spots swam before them.  She waited until they had adjusted, then looked Aerith over skittishly.</p>
<p>Aerith planted her hands behind her on the floor.  She laid her legs flat, her ankles nudging Tifa's hip.  She knocked her toes together gaily.  Tifa couldn't fathom that about her.  She might have been a minx seconds ago.  Now she was childlike in her insouciance.</p>
<p>"So?" Aerith prompted.  "Be honest.  Was it totally weird, or what?"</p>
<p>Tifa combed her hair nervously over one shoulder.  She couldn't meet Aerith's eyes.</p>
<p>"No," she said meekly.  "No, it wasn't weird."</p>
<p>That might have been the weirdest part.  Kissing one's best friend should have inspired discomfort.  Tifa didn't feel uncomfortable.  The most she felt was flushed--in her face, in her chest, her heart beating rabbit-fast.  She amended her appraisal to include weak knees.</p>
<p>"What--"  Tifa swallowed hoarsely.  "What about you?  Was it weird for you?"</p>
<p>Aerith's head tilted to one side.  Her heavy braid bunched in ropes on her lap.</p>
<p>"Of course not," Aerith said.  "It's <em>you.  </em>You're not a stranger.  We already know everything about each other."</p>
<p>Aerith had a way of simplifying the complicated.  Tifa, for once, couldn't stand for it.</p>
<p>"Aerith...this can't be what you imagined for yourself.  Even if you've given up on love, what about--I don't know--romance?  Attraction?  You're doing this with me, and not--"</p>
<p>Aerith cut her off.  "What makes you think I'm not attracted to you?"</p>
<p>The question settled in the space between them.  The impossibility of it flooded over Tifa.</p>
<p>"You..."  Tifa swallowed again.  "You mean...you..."</p>
<p>"Think you're hot?" Aerith finished.  She shrugged her shoulders.  "I'd have to be blind not to, wouldn't I?"</p>
<p>Tifa really thought she might faint this time.  Objective appreciation was one matter.  But this...</p>
<p>"Have you thought about this before?" Tifa dared to ask.  "I mean--us? Together?"</p>
<p>Aerith took longer answering this time.  "I don't think I ever imagined this.  But sure, I've checked you out.  Loads of times, even.  Don't you remember when we first met, in Midgar?"</p>
<p>Tifa swallowed a groan.  "I was kind of busy trying to figure out what Corneo was up to."</p>
<p>Aerith reached for and squeezed Tifa's hand.  "That's another thing.  You're so brave.  You didn't even think twice about leaping into danger."</p>
<p>She leaned back, her eyes faraway.  "In the Forgotten City, when Sephiroth stabbed me..."</p>
<p>"Don't," Tifa begged.  "Please."</p>
<p>She hadn't known such a tiny body could spill so much blood.  She remembered thundering up the steps to the altar, throwing herself at Aerith, holding her closed with her bare hands.  Blood, it turned out, looked brown at night.  Warm and viscous, it stopped for nothing--not even when you begged it to.</p>
<p>Tifa looked down at their hands.  Aerith had lined them up, heel to fingertip, palms pressed together.  Tifa felt life between their pulses, the soft percussion of the planet.</p>
<p>"You saved me," Aerith said softly.  "He <em>ran</em>.  Have you ever seen Sephiroth run?  From anything?"</p>
<p>Tifa scoured her in the low light.  When she thought about it:  Aerith was beautiful.  Who was that a surprise to?  Her sparkling green eyes were fae-like, her heart-shaped face kind, mischievous.</p>
<p>"I did?" Tifa asked quietly.</p>
<p>Aerith smiled, strained at the corners.  "Who knows if he would have stopped if you hadn't bum-rushed him?"  Her smile evened out into something more natural.  "If you agree to do this with me, I know we'll be in good hands.  If you'd go that far to protect <em>me</em>, I can only imagine you with our kid."</p>
<p><em>Our kid</em>, Tifa thought, faint again.  It was starting to sound like a physical reality.</p>
<p>Aerith let go of her hand.  "I can tell you're still scared.  How about this:  I'll go home early, and you go back to work for the night.  That should give you plenty of time to think things through.  When your shift is over, you can come find me.  If you want to.  If you don't--that's okay.  I'm not going to be upset."</p>
<p>She said she wouldn't be upset, but how could Tifa know for sure?  Tifa didn't want sole responsibility.  It was unnerving.</p>
<p>Aerith got up off the floor.  "I promise, Tifa.  You know I keep my promises."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Work was impossible to concentrate on with the prospect of Aerith waiting for her.  The dwindling clientele did nothing to prevent Tifa's attention from wandering.</p>
<p>"Hey, kid--are you gonna take my order, or what?"</p>
<p>Tifa startled badly behind the bar.  She looked up at Cid's scruffy face, a cigarette dangling from his lips.</p>
<p>Tifa coughed at the cigarette fumes.  "I'm sorry--what did you want, again?"</p>
<p>Cid put the cigarette out in the ash tray.  "Whaddo I always want when I come here?  Heck--what's gotten into you tonight?"</p>
<p>None of Tifa's taps came with tea installed.  She excused herself, making a quick trip to the kitchen.  While the tea was steeping, she came back to talk to Cid.</p>
<p>"How are things with Shera?" she asked.</p>
<p>Cid rasped out a laugh.  "You know her--always biting off more'n she can chew.  She wants to build twenty new windmills in the next six months.  Says we can beat Shinra to it and export energy."</p>
<p>Was this how a megacorporation died?  Tifa had first gone to Midgar with starry-eyed dreams of ecoterrorism.  In the end, it only took shifting consumer needs.</p>
<p>The planet nearly drowning everybody had probably helped.</p>
<p>Tifa left and fetched Cid's tea.  She loaded it with sugar, then placed it on the bar.  Cid blew noisily on its surface.</p>
<p>"Hey, Cid," Tifa started.  "I've been wondering..."</p>
<p>"Shoot," Cid said, taking a drink.</p>
<p>Tifa put her elbows on the bar.  "You and Shera were...well, not really friends, but colleagues, before you got together.  Has that made any of it...weird?  Between the two of you?"</p>
<p>Cid eyed Tifa suspiciously over the rim of his glass.  He set it down on the bar.</p>
<p>"No," he said bluntly.  "We lived together for years.  All that's changed is she's got my last name."</p>
<p>He shifted around on his seat.  "You're worried he'll never wise up, eh?  Don't want to wait for a ghost forever?"</p>
<p>"What?  I'm not sure who..."</p>
<p>Tifa realized Cid was talking about Cloud.  Her face burned with humiliation.</p>
<p>Cid pointed his cold cigarette at her.  He unwittingly sprinkled ashes on the bar.</p>
<p>"You've got to take the initiative!" Cid yelled.  Ariadne, the waitress, dropped the forks she was carrying.  "You think that knucklehead's gonna do it?  Hell no!  You know better than that!"</p>
<p>Tifa felt herself shrinking on the spot.  This wasn't the direction she had expected Cid to take.</p>
<p>Cid put the cigarette back in the ash tray.  "Waiting around doesn't suit you, anyhow."</p>
<p>He left the bar an hour later, pleased with himself.  He must have thought he had given Tifa a decent pep talk.</p>
<p>Tifa bit her lip, agitated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In considering the logistics of Aerith's proposal, Tifa had not taken their friends into account.  Tifa didn't think they could keep this from them forever.  How were they going to react?</p>
<p>Attitudes in Nibelheim toward same-sex relations had been fairly provincial.  In Midgar, nobody had cared.  Tifa couldn't picture any of their friends behaving badly.</p>
<p>Cid's reaction spoke to a more implicit bias.  Tifa was expected to behave a certain way.  If she deviated from that script--if her friends were disappointed with what she became--</p>
<p>Tifa turned the backlights off behind the bar.  She stared moodily at the dark room.</p>
<p>Aerith would never have been disappointed in Tifa.  If Tifa had told her she was moving to Cosmo Canyon to become a monk, Aerith would have rented her a chocobo, then tagged along for the road trip.</p>
<p>Tifa scrubbed her eyes with both hands.  She milled around the bar, picking up discarded cups.</p>
<p>An hour later, Tifa locked up.  She slipped outside, gazing at the moon.  It stood half full on a smoky sky: impossibly bright, painting the road in white shadows.</p>
<p>Tifa shouldered into her jacket.  She jammed her hands in her pockets.</p>
<p>She walked down the road past sleepy little houses, wooden, some with straw roofs.  The path curved delicately against the mouth of a pond, the clear water glittering like insect wings.  Out on the pond stood a tree with violet foliage, the moon fractured between the leaves.  Tifa stood looking at it, quelling her nerves.</p>
<p>She went on: beneath the rope bridge between windmills, fans spinning in the breeze.</p>
<p>Aerith's house was a one-story cottage, planters full of flowers in the windows.  The striped orange lilies were gray by night, burgeoning in starbursts.  Tifa breathed in their pungent scent.  Windchimes hung from low roof eaves, tin butterflies dormant in the tepid air.</p>
<p>Tifa didn't see any point in backing out.  Supposing she walked away, what good would it do?  Tifa was never going to be able to look at Aerith without remembering what her lips felt like.</p>
<p>Tifa knocked soundly on the door.  She huddled into her jacket, her stomach flipping over.</p>
<p>The door swung inward, Aerith on the threshold.  She rubbed her eyes sleepily with the soft side of her fist.  Her hair hung in a long, thick curtain down her back.  The strap of her white tank top kept sliding down her shoulder.</p>
<p>Tifa shifted uncertainly.  "I didn't mean to wake you.  Go back to sleep--"</p>
<p>Aerith's eyes brightened to an emerald gleam.  Her hands groped in the dark, finding Tifa's shoulders.  She rocked up on her toes and kissed Tifa.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aerith shows Tifa what she's been missing.  Tifa has an epiphany.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aerith was a mobile maelstrom.  She kissed Tifa in frantic presses.  Tifa was awash in her, the inferno of her eagerness.</p><p>Their earlier kiss was nothing like this.  Tifa realized Aerith had been holding out on her.</p><p>Warmth bloomed between their bodies, Aerith pressing flush against her.  Tifa felt Aerith's breasts on hers, soft, testing the flimsy material of her shirt.  Aerith's hands came up to Tifa's neck.  She stroked her there, then her jaw, her fingers fluttering, fast.</p><p>Tifa pulled back when she needed to breathe.  Aerith's face was flushed with excitement.  Her eyes had captured the starlight.</p><p>She picked up Tifa's hand and kissed it.</p><p>"You can come in."</p><p>Shakily, Tifa followed her inside.  Tifa suffered no delusions about what they were going to do.  The difference was that she had run out of reasons not to do it.</p><p>Aerith's house was the coziest, most welcoming place in Mideel.  Tifa navigated the potted plants on the hardwood.  Much of the furniture was the same shade of wood, but the doors, the cupboards were painted white.  Ivy hung in delicate whorls from ceiling planters.  Aerith must have spent upward of an hour watering everything.</p><p>"Well?" came Aerith's voice.  "You're not going to keep your jacket on while we do it, are you?"</p><p>Tifa drew a deep breath.  She peeled it off, laying it on the couch.</p><p>Aerith's hands were on her at once.  They smoothed against her bare arms.  They trailed down to her wrists.  Tifa lost sight of them, until she felt them at her front, untying her work slacks.</p><p>"A-Aerith.  I really don't...I don't know what I'm..."</p><p>Aerith laid a placating finger on her lips.</p><p>"You don't have to do a thing," Aerith soothed.  "Let me take care of you tonight.  When's the last time someone took care of you?"</p><p>Tifa didn't think she was meant to respond.  The answer would have been depressing.</p><p>"Can we..."  Tifa cleared her throat.  "Can we go in your bedroom?"</p><p>Sex in the living room felt impersonal, no matter the reason they were doing this.</p><p>Aerith took her hand again.  "You're right.  That's way more comfortable.  I guess I just got a little ahead of myself."</p><p>It struck Tifa, then, that Aerith really wanted her.  Aerith wanted her badly enough to forget what she was doing, and where.</p><p>Tifa was overcome.  She grasped Aerith by her arm.  She leaned down and kissed her, desperate, unpracticed.</p><p>Aerith returned it, until she stepped back.  In the poor moonlight, diluted by the windows, her lips were a delicious, dark red.</p><p>"Come on," Aerith said distantly.</p><p>She padded quietly from the living room.  Tifa remembered herself, following.</p><p>Aerith's bedroom was covered in throw rugs.  A ladder against the wall led to a ceiling hatch.  Tifa imagined Aerith climbing up to the roof, watching the sunset.  What did she think about when she was alone?  Was she ever really alone?  The planet had chosen her for its confidante.  It whispered in her ear at night; it woke with her when the sun came up.  Tifa thought it was a terrible burden:  She did not belong to herself.</p><p>Aerith grabbed Tifa's shoulders.  She pushed her down on the bed.</p><p>A defeated giggle tore free from Tifa.  "You're really taking the reins, huh?"</p><p>Aerith finished unfastening Tifa's pants.  "I'm the more experienced party, aren't I?  Just think of me as..."</p><p>She looked up at Tifa, eyes glimmering.  "Think of me as your teacher."</p><p>Something electric coursed through Tifa.  Spots swam before her eyes.  It ought to have been an innocent declaration.  It was unfairly hot.</p><p>Tifa was learning a lot about herself tonight.</p><p>Aerith pulled the pants down Tifa's legs.  She balled them up, throwing them aside.  Tifa's exposed legs felt cold.  Aerith made up for it, rubbing them over with delicate, maddening hands.</p><p>Aerith got up off the floor.  She settled down on Tifa's lap, the weight of her immaterial.  She hovered over her; she brought their foreheads together.  Her hands cradled Tifa's face, careful, precious.</p><p>She was hot, and near, and overwhelming.  Her breath teased Tifa's lips.  Tifa leaned up into her.  She sought her mouth for another kiss.</p><p>Not done teasing, Aerith leaned away.  She kissed the side of Tifa's nose, the spots below her eyelids.  Tifa felt so frustrated, she wanted to cry.</p><p>Aerith dragged her lips over Tifa's ear.  "So needy."</p><p>What was so needy about wanting what she was offered?</p><p>Aerith pushed Tifa gently on her back.  "I told you," she said simply.  "I'm taking care of you tonight."</p><p>Tifa's stomach surged with excitement.  She shifted higher on the bed, granting Aerith easy access.</p><p>For the moment, they traded kisses, wet and open-mouthed.  Aerith caressed Tifa's shoulder, her leg fitting between Tifa's.  The fabric of her pajamas got in the way.  Tifa sneaked her hands behind Aerith.  Shyly, she touched her backside.</p><p>Aerith laughed against her lips.  "You want them off?"</p><p>Tifa murmured a secret, retaliatory kiss.  "That might help."</p><p>Aerith sat on her knees.  She wrestled out of her pants.  When she draped herself over Tifa, their bare legs tangled together.  Tifa felt her skin jump.</p><p>Tifa felt Aerith's hand slide between them.  It glided down the planes of Tifa's stomach.  It ghosted against the front of her panties.</p><p>Tifa's hips jolted, divorced from her say.</p><p>Aerith chained kisses down Tifa's neck.  Her hand settled comfortably over Tifa's clothed mound.  The very thought that it was there was torture.</p><p>Aerith rubbed Tifa slowly through the fabric.  Her cunt throbbed with sudden, indisputable heat.  She realized she was grinding against Aerith's hand.</p><p>"Hey, Tifa."</p><p>Aerith kissed Tifa's jaw.  Her other hand circled Tifa nipple, hard underneath her cotton t-shirt.</p><p>If Aerith expected a reply, she was about to be very disappointed.</p><p>Aerith kissed Tifa's nipple.  "How many times do you think I can make you come in one night?"</p><p>The haze of pleasure dulled Tifa's senses.  Aerith's voice was underwater, faraway.</p><p>Tifa cleared her throat.  "You can't come more than once," she said uncertainly.  "Can you?"</p><p>The look Aerith gave Tifa was criminal.  Her eyes were wide and blank, twin moons.</p><p>"You poor thing," Aerith said.</p><p>She shuffled backwards on the bed.  Tifa wondered where she was going.  She didn't go very far.  She grasped Tifa's knees, spreading them gently apart.  She pushed them back, framing Tifa's shoulders.  The air felt chilly on the hot, damp patch on Tifa's panties.  Tifa was mortified.  Tifa felt the patch spreading, darkening where her lower lips drooled.</p><p>There was no coming back from this.  Tifa wondered why she didn't care more.</p><p>Tifa lost her train of thought when Aerith descended between her legs.  Her mouth latched onto Tifa's clothed cunt.  She sucked at the outline of her swollen lips, tearing a cry from Tifa.  She pushed her tongue against the wet fabric.  It rode up Tifa's slit, bunching around her clit messily.</p><p>"Oh God," Tifa babbled, among other choice epithets.</p><p>Aerith kissed her through her panties.  "Aren't you sweet?"</p><p>Tifa resorted to begging.  "Aerith, please...</p><p>Aerith's fingers took the place of her mouth, rubbing Tifa's panties against her clit.</p><p>The sweet ache came as a dull, pleasant burn.  It brought out clammy gooseflesh on Tifa's skin.  Aerith stopped to take Tifa's shirt off.  The cold air was a reprieve, fanning her heated skin.</p><p>Aerith wasted no time engulfing a nipple.  Her wet tongue scraped against it.  Tifa choked on an aborted scream.  She had never been more grateful that Aerith had no neighbors.</p><p>It happened slowly, then all at once.  Aerith kept rubbing her, playing with her, infuriating.  Heat spiked between Tifa's legs.  It came on in pulses, in tiny little shockwaves, spreading throughout her body.</p><p>"<em>Oh--</em>"</p><p>Her eyes blurred.  She lost track of time while her body throbbed with warmth, her hips canting into Aerith's touch.</p><p>Slowly, Tifa came down from the high.  Her head felt fuzzy on her shoulders.  The bedroom crackled with stuffy heat, swimming at the edges of Tifa's eyes.</p><p>Aerith hooked her fingers in Tifa's panties.  She lowered the waistband down Tifa's hips.</p><p>"Wha--Aerith--"</p><p>Aerith's voice came below her knees, teasing and mirthful.  "That was number one," she said.  "Now it's time for number two."</p><p>Wasn't she going to give Tifa a break?  Apparently not.  Tifa brought her thighs together to make Aerith's descent easier.  Her panties were so soaked, Aerith had trouble peeling them down.  Tifa was embarrassed.</p><p>Cold air hit her flushed cunt lips.  Her underpants flew to some forgotten corner of the room.</p><p>"You, too," Tifa babbled.  "You're still dressed, and I'm--"</p><p>Aerith pulled back.  She whisked her tank top off her head, tossing it carelessly, like the rest of their clothes.  Tifa stared openly at her slim hips, her narrow waist, the firm mosquito bites that constituted her breasts.</p><p>Why was Tifa's mouth watering?</p><p>Aerith peppered playful kisses on Tifa's mouth.  "Look at you.  Enjoying the show?"</p><p>"Mmh," Tifa said mindlessly.  She ran her hands up Aerith's breasts.  She caught her nipples shyly between her fingers.</p><p>Aerith brought her hand between Tifa's legs.  "Don't distract me," she said lightly.</p><p>Tifa's arms dropped like lead at her sides.  "Distract?"</p><p>Aerith's fingers on her bare cunt came like a livewire.  Tifa startled so badly, she almost dislodged them.  They parted Tifa's sticky lips with promise.</p><p>"Silly," said Aerith.  "I always get what I want."</p><p>She lowered herself between Tifa's legs.  Her tongue laved the seam between Tifa's lips.</p><p>There was no stopping it this time:  Tifa screamed.  Her hands flocked to the back of Aerith's head.  She felt Aerith's tongue disappear between her lips, pushing the heat back into her.  Tifa tightened around the invasion.  It was hot and cold all at once, fraying her senses to a patchwork of nerves.</p><p>Aerith's tongue washed over her clit.  Tifa swore she left her body.</p><p>Aerith was relentless, attacking her clit with kitten kisses.  Her tongue came back in coy hints.  Tifa felt overstimulated one minute, understimulated the next.  This might have been the cusp of insanity, or the kindest natural state of being.</p><p>The moment Aerith sucked on her, Tifa was lost.  Her body shook so violently, her back left the bed.  The breath left Tifa's chest, her fingers going numb.  All else stopped existing but the unbearable pleasure between her thighs.  Tifa felt drunk on it.  Tifa couldn't remember why she bothered doing anything that wasn't this.</p><p>The comedown took longer this time, Tifa struggling to catch her breath.  Her legs, her eyes, the bed were damp.  Tifa spared a thought for apologizing.</p><p>Aerith's fingers were back again, spreading open her aching cunt lips.</p><p>"No," Tifa giggled, hysterical with euphoria.  Aerith was some kind of fiend.  "No--too much--give me a second."</p><p>"<em>One</em> second," Aerith threatened.  "That's all you get."</p><p>Tifa struggled to push herself up.  She looped a lazy arm around Aerith's neck.  She kissed her lips, tasting herself: foreign, slightly metallic.</p><p>She surged again with excitement.  Aerith had taken her panties off.  A thin patch of brown hair trailed down to tight, puffy folds.</p><p>Tifa wanted badly to suck on them.</p><p>"Second's over," Aerith announced.</p><p>She dropped Tifa on her back.  Her fingers dove into her up to the knuckle.</p><p>Tifa had never felt so full.  Her back stiffened into a line.  She shivered, her teeth chattering.  Her walls clenched of their own accord.</p><p>Aerith's other hand stroked her stomach.  "Shh..."</p><p>Tifa's hair stuck to her temples.  She couldn't remember ever sweating so much.</p><p>Aerith touched their foreheads again.  Her fingers spread inside of Tifa, a bluntness she felt in her stomach.</p><p>"You," Aerith said, "are like no one else."</p><p>Tifa couldn't take her eyes off of her.  Slowly, senselessly, she rode Aerith's fingers.</p><p>There was something very natural about doing this with Aerith.  Aerith already knew everything else about Tifa.  Now she knew something few people did, or ever would.  Tifa felt emotional at the realization.</p><p>Aerith crooked her fingers.  She brushed her thumb over Tifa's clit.</p><p>"<em>Ah!</em>"</p><p>Tifa saw starbusts, violent and bright.</p><p>Aerith stroked inside of her.  "I need you to come again," she said sweetly.  "Can you do that?  It would help me out so much.  I need your help, Tifa."</p><p>"Uh...  I..."</p><p>Aerith's voice came like a siren's song.  Tifa would have done anything she asked.</p><p>Aerith slid her fingers out of Tifa.  She met her cunt with her hand.</p><p>"Can you do that for me?"</p><p>Tifa nodded furiously.  She rubbed herself against her.</p><p>Tifa was so drained of energy, she didn't know how she could possibly orgasm.  Aerith didn't care about human limitations.  She coaxed it out of her in tiny spasms, in twitching aftershocks, a testament to prior devastations.  Tifa wondered if Aerith was trying to kill her.</p><p>When she was done taking Tifa apart, Aerith sat back, knees raised.  Tifa mustered the stamina to watch.  Aerith's hand was wet with Tifa's slick.  She reached between her legs, slowly pleasuring herself.</p><p>Tifa's stomach flipped over.  The breath fairly hitched in her chest.</p><p>Aerith pinched her eyes shut.  Her hair, a cloudy mass, hung over her shoulder.  Sweat glistened on her stomach, catching on the prominent scar.  Her nipples were pink points, jostling when she shuddered.</p><p>She rubbed Tifa's come between the folds of her cunt.  Her shoulders bowed, her fingers sinking in to the second joint.</p><p>Tifa had not forgotten why Aerith propositioned her.  This, she supposed, was how it was done.  Would it work?  Tifa's stomach tightened.  This might have been magic, the moment something came from nothing.  Maybe nothing would happen.  Maybe they'd have to keep trying.</p><p>Aerith looked ethereal in the dark.  She palmed herself carefully, her free hand twisting in the blankets.  She looked every bit the ancient she was, a little unknowable, a little unreal.</p><p>When she came, she didn't scream, or even vocalize.  Tifa would have missed it if she hadn't shivered daintily, her fingers halting in their progress.  Tifa wondered what it was like to always be composed.</p><p>Aerith lay next to Tifa.  She sighed pleasantly.  Tifa moved closer, magnetized.</p><p>"I forgot," Aerith said.  "Sex is so exhausting.  Guess I haven't had a refresher in a while."</p><p>She sounded like Aerith, the same as always.  She did not sound as if the world she inhabited had changed.</p><p>Tifa had never felt anything like this.  Her body was thrumming with satisfaction.  It had done things tonight she hadn't thought it could do.  If not for Aerith, she wouldn't have known.</p><p>Aerith pulled the damp blankets from the bed.  "You okay?"</p><p>"Um," Tifa said.</p><p>Was this what other people felt when they had sex?  Was this why they enjoyed it so much?  Tifa blinked fast, her eyes moist.  Moist?  What was happening?  Something so wonderful should not have been frightening.  Tifa wasn't sure what the frightening part was.</p><p>Aerith kissed her head.  "Night, hon."</p><p>Tifa watched Aerith stretch out on the mattress.  Her skin slid up over her ribs when she yawned.  She tossed her arm on the pillow.  In the process, she nearly clocked Tifa in the face.</p><p>Aerith was Aerith, whether she was saving the planet, or hiding from her day job--or unraveling Tifa, thread by thread.</p><p>It was nice that Aerith was so unchanging.  Tifa was not.  Tifa liked the shapes of Aerith's breasts, her deft fingers, her skinny ankles.  Tifa liked that she was a woman.  Tifa liked sex with women.  She did not like sex with men.</p><p>"Wow," Tifa whispered.</p><p>Of course it was frightening.  Tifa was supposed to know herself better than anyone.  Now she realized how little she knew.  She wondered what else she didn't know.  She wondered if Aerith was always going to be the catalyst.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aerith has utterly destroyed Tifa.  An old friend comes to town.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Bugenhagen's alive because I say so.</p><p>Guys, the OG confuses the heck on me as to whether Reeve and Cait Sith are one entity, or two.  Cait Sith is kind of my favorite character (I'm trash), but it serves me better to treat them as one right now.  I guess we have to wait for further installments in the remake to get a definitive answer...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The problem with Aerith was that she was a whirlwind.  Not content to disrupt the social order, she rearranged the very molecules of spacetime.  There was no room she had entered that she hadn't shaken upside-down.  There was no one who knew her who wasn't bewildered.  Tifa foremost considered herself a veteran of this tempest.  Her battle wounds were not apparent to the eye.  In the years to come, the young ones would ask about the crisis, the time the planet swelled up in agitation.  Tifa's only yarn was about the girl with tourmaline eyes, who shoved mercenaries into dresses and wielded folding chairs with verve.</p><p>Aerith had scattered the very essence of Tifa.  She had done it like all things: without apology, or awareness.</p><p>In the days after their coupling, Tifa felt different.</p><p>She saw differently.  She found herself noticing attributes she never had.  A woman with a willowy waist was attractive.  Round shoulders, slender necks were aesthetically pleasing.  Tifa even appreciated the coded ways women wore their hair: long, or short, or middle-back, or tied up, or pinned in a hasty bun, strands escaping in defiance.  Tifa inhabited a world of such beauty, she felt dumbstruck to learn it so late.</p><p>Of all the beautiful faces there were, Tifa liked heart-shaped faces best.  They reminded her of Aerith's, the classic exemplar.  Increasingly, Tifa's thoughts strayed to her--not a great thing, when work kept her so busy.</p><p>"Tifa?  Um...are you okay?"</p><p>Mousy little Ariadne poked Tifa's arm with the business end of a fork.</p><p>Tifa snapped back to attention.  "Sorry.  What?"</p><p>Ariadne shrank back.  She handed Tifa a page ripped out of her server notepad.</p><p>"Sorry," Tifa said again.  "I'm on it."</p><p>Tifa carried the ticket to the kitchen.  The short order cook, an old man, hastily put out his cigarette.  It was only very recently that Tifa had been able to hire him.  Mideel felt permanent at last.</p><p>"Hey!  Tifa!"</p><p>Tifa's heart lodged in her throat.  She spun around, her hair smacking her in the face.</p><p>Aerith was standing in the kitchen doorway.  Tonight's outfit was a cute pair of sunny yellow shorts, a white t-shirt knotted at the waist.  The makeshift ribbon hid the scar by Aerith's navel.  The hem rose up above her belly just the same, taunting Tifa with a creamy stretch of skin.</p><p>The air was much too hot--even for a kitchen.  It hummed with Aerith's heady nearness.  Tifa felt her blood rushing behind her ears, between her thighs.</p><p>"H...Hi."</p><p>She thought of the taste of Aerith's lips, what her fingers looked like when they disappeared in her.</p><p>Aerith had the nerve to look completely unfazed.</p><p>"I just wanted to say sorry for getting busy.  The preschool's swamped all of a sudden!  It sucks, but I guess other villages realized they could pawn their kids off on us."</p><p>The short order cook tossed meat on sandwich bread.  Tifa could tell he was pretending not to listen.</p><p>Aerith stepped into the kitchen.  Her sandals slapped softly on the linoleum.</p><p>"I haven't forgotten you, though...or our agreement.  In fact, I think I'm gonna need your help again.  I don't know if it worked, the last time.  You know?"</p><p>Tifa swallowed.  Her tongue felt lodged in her throat.  Aerith's eyes scaled her shamelessly, finally resting on Tifa's face.</p><p>The backs of Tifa's knees felt sweaty.</p><p>"I wish I had time right now," Aerith said.  "But I'm exhausted."</p><p>"I--it's not--no rush," Tifa said.  She felt like a fool.</p><p>Aerith giggled.  "The least I can do is remind you what you're missing.  I wouldn't want you getting bored of me, would I?"</p><p>Tifa unstuck her tongue.  "Bored?  How could I get--"</p><p>Aerith crossed the space to her in a neat stride.  Tifa's heart beat so loudly, she wondered how everyone didn't hear it.</p><p>Aerith laid her hands on Tifa's arms.  Soft, cool, they felt electrifying.</p><p>Aerith pushed her up against the industrial refrigerator.  She pressed them together in gradual increments: their hips, their stomachs, their firm breasts.  Tifa had never felt so excited.  Her heartbeat pounded through every pulse point on her body: her wrists, her neck, the throb in her cunt.</p><p>Aerith surged up, kissing Tifa.  It was sweet to start with, but deepened in intensity.  She framed Tifa's face with her hands.  She carded Tifa's hair out of the way.  She slotted her thigh between Tifa's, teasing her with what she couldn't yet have.</p><p>She had the audacity to roll against Tifa.  Tifa whimpered into her mouth.</p><p>Aerith pulled back.  Her face was flushed with pleasure.  Tifa realized she was reaching for Aerith, needy hands unrestrained.</p><p>"Soon," Aerith promised, winking.</p><p>She straightened out her shorts.  She strolled out of the kitchen, whistling a tune.</p><p>The cook gaped at Tifa.  His mouth hung nearly to his collarbone.</p><p>Tifa's face must have been scarlet.  "Let's get back to work!" she squeaked.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>But work was the farthest thing from Tifa's mind.</p><p>It felt like ages before Tifa locked up for the night.  She climbed the stairs to her apartment, still jittery.  She sat on a cushion on her living room floor.  She was so hot, she didn't think twice before stripping, rolling down her thigh-high socks, peeling off her thin brown skirt.</p><p>Tifa hesitated.  Her panties were wet with either sweat or arousal.  There was no point keeping them on, she reasoned.  They were preventing her from getting comfortable.</p><p>She divested of them, fast, sighing in relief.  Cool air rose from the hardwood floor.  It coasted over her damp thighs, her flushed nether lips.</p><p>Tifa bit her lip.  She thought back to that unbelievable kiss, the feeling of Aerith's body on hers.  She thought back to Aerith's head between her legs, her tongue dancing over her clit.</p><p>"Oh, God," Tifa whispered.</p><p>Tifa spread her cunt lips open with her fingers.  She prodded between them until she felt her clit, already swollen with want.  She rubbed it mindlessly.  Relief came in an instant, but left her in need of more.</p><p>Aerith's tongue had been so hot inside of her, so soft.  It had worked her open with torturous precision.  Tifa missed the feeling of it very badly.  She slid her finger down to her opening.  She pushed it inside, pretending it was Aerith's.</p><p>She remembered the glow in Aerith's eyes, her lips, her face pink from kissing.</p><p>Tifa whined loudly.  She ground her hand against her dripping cunt.  Her clit caught on the crook of her finger, sending sparks behind her hazy eyes.</p><p>"Aerith..."</p><p>Another image came to mind, unbidden.  Tifa remembered a time during their travels when they had sat in the lobby of an inn.  One of their friends--probably Cid--had cracked an uncouth joke.  Aerith had tossed her head back, laughing.  She had looked a little like a free bird.  What did it feel like to leave a gilded cage?  Had her wings been sore?  Had she remembered the night songs her mother used to sing?</p><p>Aerith had looked so happy.</p><p>"<em>Aerith!</em>"</p><p>Tifa came wildly on her own hand.  It hit her like a gut punch, sending her sprawling on her back.  It knocked the startled breath from her lungs.</p><p>Silence rang in Tifa's ears.  She took her time gathering her thoughts.  Her hair fanned out below her on the floor, her hands folded on her chest.</p><p>Aerith had wrecked her.  That was the only word for it.  She had stepped into Tifa's tidy life, upended it--like she did all things--and walked away from the rubble unscathed.</p><p>Tifa had absolutely no idea how to recover.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The next day, Tifa went to work early, taking inventory.  Bemusingly, dinner plates kept disappearing.  Tifa suspected a customer was stealing them.  To date, she hadn't caught anybody in the act.</p><p>A loud knock sounded on the front door.</p><p>Tifa came out from the kitchen.  "We're not open!"</p><p>"Come on!" came a familiar voice.  "I haven't seen you in ages!"</p><p>Tifa hopped over the bar.  She jogged to the door, scarcely believing her ears.</p><p>She opened the door and smiled.  "Yuffie!"</p><p>Few things in life were resistant to change.  Yuffie was one of them.  Beaming, she threw her arms around Tifa.  It was hard to believe she was seventeen now.  She looked every bit the scheming, scrawny kid of old.  The only apparent change was her hair.  It was an inch longer, and scruffy at the tips.  Knowing Yuffie, she had forgotten to cut it.</p><p>Yuffie pulled back.  She blinded Tifa with her smile--and her lurid orange track shorts.</p><p>Tifa squeezed her shoulders.  "I've missed you!  How have you been?"</p><p>Yuffie practically vibrated in place.  "Man, have I got some news for you!  But first, could I get something to eat?  Pretty please?"</p><p>Tifa chuckled.  She tousled Yuffie's hair.  "Grab a seat, and I'll see what I can do."</p><p>Tifa dipped back into the kitchen, enthused.  It was impossible not to be in a good mood now.  She scrambled some eggs, tossing them with leftover rice.  She carried the plate to Yuffie, who sat at the bar, swinging her legs.</p><p>"Thanks!"</p><p>Yuffie tucked in with gusto.</p><p>Tifa put her elbows on the bar.  She smiled.  "What brings you all the way from Wutai?"</p><p>Yuffie swallowed a mouthful of egg.  "Well, it's funny, actually.  I just came from Cosmo Canyon.  Dad's being a royal pain in my behind, so I stayed with Nanaki for a week.  Did you know Vincent's hiding out that way, too?"</p><p>"No way," said Tifa.  She tucked her hair behind her ear.</p><p>"Mr. Sourpuss sure wasn't pleased to see me."  Yuffie sprayed rice on the bar when she talked.  "But enough about him!  I heard Bugenhagen and Nanaki talking, and you'll never believe this!"</p><p>Tifa smiled patiently.  "What is it?"</p><p>She knew by now that Yuffie took a while to get to the point.</p><p>Yuffie put her fork down, dramatic.  "Nanaki's birthday is in <em>three days!</em>"</p><p>Tifa wasn't sure what was so revelatory about this.  "I wish he had told us.  I'd like to get him something."</p><p>What kind of gift could she get a talking quadruped?  Tifa thought of books, but lamented his lack of hands.</p><p>"Don't worry about that!"  Yuffie drummed her feet noisily on the bar.  "I was thinking--we should all get together and surprise him with a visit!"</p><p>Tifa gave this some thought.  "Nanaki seems like the last person who would want a big fuss..."</p><p>Yuffie snickered.  "Duh, but that's half the fun."</p><p>She sucked scrambled egg off her fork.  "Besides--Nanaki's just a kid.  He acts all cool and mysterious, but he wants to be liked, same as all of us."</p><p>Tifa conceded the point.  Seeing Nanaki again would be nice.  It felt too long since all their friends had been in one place.</p><p>"Okay," Tifa said.  "I'm in."</p><p>"Great!"  Yuffie dropped her fork with a clatter.  "We'll get Cid to fly us!  His new ship looks bitchin'!  I just wish it didn't have to leave the ground..."</p><p>"Don't curse," Tifa said distractedly.  "Am I the first person you've visited about this?"</p><p>Yuffie nodded.  "I've missed you the most.  Well, you and Aerith.  Oh, how's Aerith?  Is she really working at a preschool now?"</p><p>Tifa faltered at the mention of her.  "She's, um--she's good."</p><p>She was trying to have babies with Tifa.  Tifa couldn't begin to weave that into conversation.</p><p>"This is gonna be awesome!" Yuffie yelled.</p><p>Tifa nodded.  She patted her pockets, an afterthought.</p><p>She narrowed her eyes.  "Yuffie?"</p><p>Yuffie grinned back.  "Yeah?"</p><p>Tifa held her hand out solemnly.</p><p>Yuffie deflated.  "Aw, you're no fun."</p><p>Yuffie scooped Tifa's materia out of her pocket.  She returned them to their rightful owner.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Yuffie took care of the preparations.  All Tifa had to do was find someone to cover the bar.  That out of the way, she met with her friends outside Mideel, the sun coming up burnt orange behind the horizon.</p><p>Cid's new airship was indeed quite bitchin'.  Almost twice the size of the Highwind, it was powered not by mako, but by a proprietary jet fuel.  Tifa nearly got lost in the hangar.  She made it to the passenger bay, her friends carrying their luggage into the cabins.</p><p>She bumped into Cloud and froze up.</p><p>"Hey," he said.</p><p>It wasn't Tifa's imagination:  There was a new, hangdog quality to his face.  His blue eyes were tired.  He looked like someone who rarely saw sunshine.  Most of their friends hadn't, until leaving Midgar.</p><p>Cloud had undeniably regressed.  It was unsettling.</p><p>"You okay?" Tifa asked, concerned.  "Aren't you getting any sleep?"</p><p>Cloud blew hair from his eyes.  He looked away.  "Sometimes."</p><p>Tifa didn't know what to do for him.  She used to--or she thought she used to.</p><p>Tifa gestured awkwardly at the nearest cabin.  "I'm going to..."</p><p>"Oh."  Cloud stepped out of her way.  "Sorry."</p><p>Tifa carried her bag into the cabin.  She felt relieved--and, in turn, guilty.</p><p>She stayed in her cabin for a couple hours, unpacking her clothes and her toothbrush.  Through the metal walls, she heard the engine humming, the propeller blades spinning on the wings.  They were in the air.</p><p>Around noon, Tifa left for lunch.  She found the dining compartment at the end of the bay.  It was roomy, with white tables and red leather benches.  The half-moon bar was stocked with canned goods.</p><p>Shera, Reeve, and Barret were at one table.  They chatted animatedly.  Shera sat up and waved when she saw Tifa.</p><p>"Hello, Tifa, honey," she said meekly.</p><p>At another booth sat Marlene, Yuffie, and Aerith.  Yuffie hunched over the table, green in the face.</p><p>"Every time," Yuffie moaned.  "Every freaking time..."</p><p>Marlene stood on the bench, petting her head.  Aerith said, "But you're the one who suggested flying, sweetie."</p><p>"Well, yeah!" Yuffie defended.  "Renting nine chocobos would've been expensive!  Anyway, can a chocobo even hold Barret?"</p><p>Barret turned around in his seat.  He glared at her.</p><p>Tifa ducked behind the bar, looking for something to eat.  She decided to make a sandwich.  She opened the bread box, listening with one ear to her friends.</p><p>"Are we gonna see the red puppy, Daddy?" Marlene asked.</p><p>Barret chuckled.  "Do me a favor," he said.  "Call him that when you see him."</p><p>Tifa made the mistake of looking up.  Aerith's eyes were fixed stolidly on her.  She smiled slowly, a devilish curl of her lips.</p><p>Tifa put the butter knife down.  She gripped the edge of the bar.</p><p>Reeve tapped his pipe on the end of his table.  "I have to say," he started amiably, "it'll be nice to visit Cosmo Canyon without pretending I'm a cat."</p><p>"Yeah," Yuffie shot at him, "what was up with that?  Your best idea of a disguise was a cat in a cape?"</p><p>Reeve tucked his pipe in his mouth.  He said, "You sit through board meetings with Palmer and Heidegger.  You'll find yourself going a little loony, too."</p><p>Tifa peeked at Aerith again.  Aerith had yet to look away.  Aerith brought a plum to her mouth.  She licked at the exposed flesh, taking a bite.</p><p>Tifa's knees pressed together.  She shivered.</p><p>"Tifa?" said Shera.  "Are you feeling alright?"</p><p>Tifa cleared her throat.  "Fine!  I'm fine."</p><p>The next twelve hours were going to be long.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Around evening, Tifa went out on the ship's open-air deck.  She held fast to the railing, the wind whipping her hair.  She watched the sun laving pink shadows on the hilly clouds.  It sparked behind the ocean, a sliver of gold, lighting the waves gray, like a mirror.</p><p>This world was so beautiful.  Tifa was consummately aware of that.  She was aware how close they had come to losing it.  She couldn't help feeling protective of it.</p><p>The sun disappeared, covering the sky in steely blue.  The stars suggested themselves in faint dashes behind black clouds.  Tifa went back inside the ship.  She played a round of cards with Barret and Cid.  Either Shera was driving, or the ship was on autopilot.</p><p>One by one, all her friends retired.  Tifa retreated to her cabin, too.  She decided to get some rest before they arrived at Nanaki's home.</p><p>She wasn't feeling very sleepy.</p><p>Tifa changed into a t-shirt and boxer shorts.  She lay down in bed, her hands on her stomach.  She waited.</p><p>Was Aerith going to come to her tonight?  It had been four days.  This whole arrangement was Aerith's idea in the first place.  It didn't seem fair that Aerith might leave her hanging.</p><p>Tifa stared at the bolted metal ceiling.  Aerith couldn't possibly be that cruel.</p><p>Someone was knocking on the door.</p><p>Tifa leapt out of bed.  Her heart was beating in overtime.  "Coming!"</p><p>She wrenched the door open.  She recoiled with disappointment.  It wasn't Aerith, but Cloud.</p><p>Cloud blinked fast.  "Uh.  I didn't wake you, did I?"</p><p>Tifa wilted.  "Nope.  Did you need something?"</p><p>Cloud ran his hand through the back of his hair.  He breathed deeply.</p><p>"I don't...know what to do," he said.</p><p>Tifa's legs were starting to feel cold.  She leaned on the door frame.  "About what, Cloud?"</p><p>Cloud shifted, his eyes on the floor.  He said, "I never really...apologized to her."</p><p>Tifa waited to hear what this was about.</p><p>Cloud sighed.  "When Seph--when <em>he</em> was controlling me--I almost killed her.  And then he almost finished the job.  I didn't know what to say to her afterward.  I never said anything."</p><p>He raised his eyes.  "And now she's here.  I'm gonna have to talk to her."</p><p>On the one hand:  Tifa couldn't believe he was hung up over this.  Everyone else was moving forward, even Aerith.</p><p>On the other hand:  Tifa felt very sorry for him.  Tifa prided herself on her mastery of her body.  Tifa couldn't imagine the helplessness of losing control of it.</p><p>If she had been the one possessed by Sephiroth...  If she had come close to ripping Aerith's life away...</p><p>Cloud frowned.  "Did I upset you?"</p><p>Tifa cursed her inability to hide her emotions.</p><p>Tifa patted Cloud's shoulder.  "It's okay.  But Cloud, if you're feeling sorry, why don't you just start with that?  Walk up to her and say, 'I'm sorry, Aerith.'  I'm sure she'll know what it's about."</p><p>Cloud seemed to consider Tifa's advice.  At length, he nodded, his eyebrows drawing up.</p><p>"Yeah," he said.  "Yeah...I'll go do that."</p><p>He turned around in the doorway.</p><p>Tifa panicked.  "<em>Now?</em>"</p><p>Cloud spun around again.  His eyebrows twitched together.  "Yes?"</p><p>It was imperative that Cloud not visit Aerith right now.  Tifa wanted to visit her first.</p><p>"Look," Tifa hastened.  "She's probably asleep.  You know how flying can make you sleepy, even when you're not really doing anything.  Why don't you talk to her in the morning?"</p><p>Cloud used the toe of his shoe to scratch the back of his ankle.  "But if I don't go now, I might lose my nerve."</p><p>If <em>Tifa</em> didn't go now, she would <em>definitely</em> lose her nerve.</p><p>"She needs her sleep," Tifa insisted.  "She's, um...planning a big surprise for Nanaki."</p><p>Cloud went quiet for so long, Tifa wondered if he had heard her.  Maybe he had fallen asleep standing up.</p><p>Cloud heaved a second sigh.  "Okay.  I guess...it's his birthday, after all."</p><p>He turned around, plodding obediently back to his cabin.</p><p>Tifa counted to ten.  She snapped her door shut behind her.  She sprinted across the corridor to Aerith's room.</p><p>Outside Aerith's door, Tifa drew a calming breath.  She flattened her hair with her fingers.  She didn't want to look too eager--but knowing Aerith, Aerith already knew.</p><p>Tifa knocked on Aerith's door.</p><p>No response.</p><p>Maybe, Tifa thought, she really was asleep?  But that wasn't very much like Aerith.  Aerith was typically the last to bed and the last to rise.  It was funny, because Aerith loved mornings.</p><p>Tifa knocked again.  She swallowed around the knot in her throat.</p><p>"Please let me in?" she said through the door.  "I mean...are you alright in there?  If you don't want to have sex tonight, I don't mind, I promise.  I'm just starting to worry."</p><p>The door swung inward.  Reeve stood on the threshold, rubbing his goatee.</p><p>"I think," he said, "you have the wrong cabin."</p><p>Tifa yelped.  Her legs tangled together.  She landed hard on her posterior, her face blazing.</p><p>Reeve crouched down, hands on his knees.  "Alright there?" he said pleasantly.</p><p>"Oh...  Oh my God..."</p><p>"Tifa?"</p><p>The door next to Reeve's clicked open.  Aerith leaned out, her loose hair bunched over one shoulder.</p><p>Tifa must have miscounted the cabin doors.</p><p>Reeve looked quickly between Tifa and Aerith.  His jaw dropped, his eyebrows climbing higher--higher--</p><p>"I!"  Tifa jumped up.  Her heart was hammering.  "Uh!"</p><p>Aerith giggled, the infuriating tart.  She wrapped her hand around Tifa's wrist.</p><p>"Good night, Reeve!" she sang.</p><p>She towed Tifa into her cabin like Tifa weighed as much as his little cat.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>"He knows," Tifa moaned.  "I knocked on his door--I thought it was yours--he knows we're having sex.  He <em>knows</em>--"</p><p>Aerith shrugged.  She sat on her bed, her white pajamas covered in ducks.  "So?"</p><p>Tifa sank down next to her.  She whined high in the back of her throat.</p><p>Aerith patted her knee.  "People are gonna find out sooner or later.  I mean, what about when we have a baby?  They're gonna wanna know where the baby came from."</p><p>The rational part of Tifa's hindbrain agreed.  It couldn't stay hidden forever.</p><p>Aerith reached seductively for Tifa's pants.  "So," she said.  "You just couldn't wait until we were on land, huh?"</p><p>Tifa didn't know if she wanted to kiss her, or hide from her.</p><p>"Wait," she said.  "We can't..."</p><p>Aerith's fingers skirted the bottom of Tifa's shorts.  "Hm?"</p><p>Tifa very much needed Aerith's hands to stay put.</p><p>"We can't," she said, conflicted.  "Reeve's next door--and awake.  He'll hear us, don't you think?"</p><p>Aerith shook her head.  "I already cast Silence on the cabin.  Honestly, Tifa, are you forgetting I have magic?"</p><p>How could Tifa possibly forget?  Aerith was magic in her words, her deeds.  Aerith was impossible.  Aerith was...</p><p>Aerith was undressing.  She whisked her shirt off, messing up her hair.  She shimmied out of her pants.</p><p>She smiled coyly at Tifa.  "Are you going to keep me waiting?"</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Tifa was naked, and very cold.  Tifa wasn't sure how Aerith wasn't shivering.</p><p>It probably helped that she was kissing the life out of Tifa.  Tifa knew, after all, how little Aerith liked to multitask.</p><p>Aerith gathered Tifa's hair in her hands.  She sucked maddeningly at her lip.</p><p>Tifa pulled back.  "Um.  Can I..."</p><p>Aerith looked at her sweetly.  "What is it?"</p><p>Tifa dragged her eyes over Aerith's naked body.  Her little pink nipples were driving Tifa crazy.  Her prominent hipbones were alluring.</p><p>"I didn't--"  Tifa checked.  "I didn't get to touch you much.  Last time."</p><p>Aerith canted her head.  When she smiled, it was devastating, slow and irreverent.</p><p>"Go ahead," she said.  "I'm not stopping you."</p><p>Tifa was so very afraid.  She wanted to please Aerith.  What if she didn't know how?</p><p>Tifa brought shy hands to Aerith's breasts.  She kneaded them, tugging her nipples between her fingers.</p><p>Aerith laid a hand on the back of Tifa's head.  "You're adorable, Tifa."</p><p>It was all the encouragement Tifa needed.  She bowed her head, licking at Aerith's nipples.  She relished the taste of them: sweet from her body wash, salty from her sweat.</p><p>All of Aerith was Tifa's to taste.  Tifa couldn't quite grasp that reality.  She leaned back on the bed, eyeing Aerith's lower lips with hunger.</p><p>Aerith noticed.  "Do you want to?"</p><p>Tifa wanted to--badly, even.  But she didn't trust herself not to screw it up.</p><p>Aerith propped her pillow against the metal headboard.  She leaned her back against it, otherwise prone on the bed.</p><p>"Tell you what," she said.  "You try out exactly what you want to try.  Nothing more.  And when you want to stop, you stop."</p><p>It sounded too good to be true.  Tifa gave her a dubious look.</p><p>"I mean it," Aerith said.  "There's nothing you could do right now that would disappoint me."</p><p>Something flopped over in Tifa's chest.  She had never felt so safe with another person--let alone in bed.</p><p>Tifa watched incredulously as Aerith's legs parted.  Her knees came up, baring her cunt: her clit jutting out of its hood, her lips swollen with arousal.  Tifa watched in realtime as precome beaded between her lips.  It tumbled down her slit, catching before it hit the bed.</p><p>Tifa snapped.  She went down on her elbows.  She brushed her tongue up the length of Aerith's slit.</p><p>She tasted like citrus, like metal, like girlhood.  Tifa moaned shakily, reaching down to palm herself.  She sucked with urgency on Aerith's outer lip.</p><p>Aerith buried her hands in Tifa's hair.  Her fingers tightened.</p><p>Tifa's tongue bumped against Aerith's clit.  Shyly, she rubbed it over.  She rolled it experimentally on the flat of her tongue, pleased to feel how hard it was.</p><p>Aerith rubbed herself on Tifa's tongue.  Her mewling little sigh traveled straight down Tifa's spine.  Trembling, Tifa rocked her fingers inside herself.  She fucked her needy cunt, Aerith using her mouth like a convenient surface.</p><p>Aerith's palm curved to the back of Tifa's head.  She pushed her ever closer, Tifa's tongue sliding between her lips.</p><p>"That's my good girl," Aerith whispered.</p><p>Tifa whined out loud.  Her cunt clamped tight around her fingers, knuckle-deep.</p><p>Aerith brushed her thumb at the corner of Tifa's mouth.  "Is that it?  You like hearing how good you are?"</p><p>Tifa eased her tongue off Aerith's clit.  She gazed up at her in awe, her face so hot, she could scarcely breathe.</p><p>Aerith reached for Tifa's wrist.  She tugged Tifa's fingers out of her pussy.  Tifa nearly whined again, until Aerith lowered her head, licking them clean.</p><p>She looked at Tifa, a wicked gleam in her eyes.  She took hold of Tifa's hips, pulling her astride her legs.</p><p>Face-to-face with Aerith, Tifa dove in for a panting kiss.</p><p>Aerith indulged her.  It was wet and messy, until Aerith pulled back.  She slipped her hand between them, stroking Tifa's spread cunt.</p><p>"Aer...Aerith..."</p><p>Aerith nosed sweetly at Tifa's jaw.  She kissed it.</p><p>"You're so good to me, Tifa," Aerith said.  "The very best."</p><p>Tifa came violently on Aerith's fingers.  She cried out, hiding her face against her neck.  She clung to her, Aerith holding her with one arm.  Tifa could guess what her other hand was doing.</p><p>The sudden rush of slick on Tifa's thigh told her she wasn't wrong.</p><p>For a while, Tifa lay against Aerith, her arms around her shoulders.  She was afraid to extricate herself.  Ending the moment meant closing the door on the most incredible sensations.</p><p>"Mm...honey?"</p><p>She realized Aerith was talking to her.</p><p>Aerith stroked circles on Tifa's back.  "Hon?  My leg's falling asleep."</p><p>Tifa blushed with realization.  "Oh.  Sorry."</p><p>She rolled off of Aerith, lying flat on the mattress.  Aerith adjusted herself, lying down beside her.</p><p>Aerith reached for her hand.  She squeezed it.  Tifa felt warmth blooming in her chest.</p><p>Aerith pressed kisses to Tifa's shoulder.  "How much of a gossip do you think Reeve is?"</p><p>Tifa groaned.  She hoped she could escape Aerith's cabin tomorrow before Reeve woke up.</p><p>Aerith slung her arm around Tifa's waist.  "Never mind," she said.  "Guess we'll find out in the morning."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The gang arrives in Cosmo Canyon.  Cetra genes work very fast.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you all for being so patient while real life kicks my ass.  Believe me, if I could do nothing all day but write about girls having sex, I would.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Airships were peaceful first thing in the morning.  The propellers thrummed sleepily through the thin metal walls, the only sound at either end of the hull.  Tifa surmised all her friends were still asleep.  She crept into the dining compartment to look after breakfast.  Tifa shuddered to think of what Cid considered breakfast when he was fending for himself.</p>
<p>The victuals were slim, Tifa realized, dispirited.  Apart from bread and powdered eggs, the bar was stocked with little variety.  Tifa supposed Cid meant to do his shopping when they landed.  She couldn't help thinking how very like a man he was.</p>
<p>She thought she might salvage the bread with some jam.  She had just opened the jar when she heard footsteps.</p>
<p>"Tifa?"</p>
<p>She looked over the bar.  Aerith's vibrant eyes gleamed back at her, sleepy.</p>
<p>Tifa ought to have known she was awake.  Mornings were when Aerith was at her most lucid.  Tifa wondered if she was operating on a schedule.  Gardeners worked in the mornings, didn't they?</p>
<p>"Hey," Tifa said.</p>
<p>The awkwardness of the past couple weeks melted away.  Tifa smiled.  It occurred to her that the most peaceful moments of all were the ones she spent with Aerith, doing absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>Aerith yawned noisily behind her hand.  "Jeez...we're not gonna have much alone time once we land, are we?"</p>
<p>Tifa tilted her head.  "What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"Oh, you remember what Cosmo Canyon's like.  It's pretty, but it's basically like camping!  Everybody's on top of one another."</p>
<p>Tifa supposed that was true enough.  Cosmo Canyon wasn't exactly known for five star resorts.</p>
<p>"It's only for a week," Tifa offered, consoling.  "And it's worth it to see Nanaki again, don't you think?"</p>
<p>Aerith pretended to huff at her.  "Go ahead and make me feel like a bad friend."</p>
<p>Tifa rolled her eyes, smiling.  She couldn't help thinking Aerith was charming, even when she was acting childish.</p>
<p>Aerith tucked her hand under her chin.  "Still, I'd rather have a baby sooner than later.  And if we aren't going to have time in Cosmo Canyon..."</p>
<p>Aerith came around the side of the bar.  Tifa backed away, startled.</p>
<p>"A-Aerith?" she squeaked.  "You know our friends'll be awake any minute, don't you?"</p>
<p>The gleam in Aerith's eyes turned wicked.  "Doesn't matter.  I bet I can get you to come in five minutes."</p>
<p>Aerith dropped down to her knees on the floor.  She reached for the hem of Tifa's shorts.</p>
<p>Tifa was certain this was a terrible idea.</p>
<p>"Aerith...Aerith, there's no way you--"</p>
<p>Aerith's hands were warm inside Tifa's thighs.  The warmth of her breath was quick to follow, thick and heavy where it ghosted Tifa's skin.</p>
<p>"Okay," Tifa muttered, infinitely powerless in Aerith's wake.  "Okay," she said, defeated.</p>
<p>Aerith's lips teased at the softness of her thighs.  Tifa had never thought of her legs as particularly sensitive.  Clearly, Tifa needed to rethink her own anatomy.</p>
<p>She leaned back against the wall shelves, gripping the one at the hollow of her back.</p>
<p>Aerith wasted no time rolling Tifa's shorts down, her panties with them.  Tifa winced at the cold air.  Aerith trailed her hasty kisses from Tifa's legs to her bare cunt lips.  The heat of her came as a welcome reprieve, a precursor to a sweeter heat by far.</p>
<p>"Goddammit!  Why do I have to put up with her smart mouth?  Walking around thinking she's a grown ass girl!"</p>
<p>Tifa shrieked when Barret came storming into the compartment.  She pitched forward, grabbing the bar for leverage.</p>
<p>Barret stopped in his tracks.  He raised his eyebrows.  "I didn't mean to scare you.  What're you doing awake?"</p>
<p>Tifa begged her pounding heart to calm down.  If Barret had arrived even a second later, he might have seen something irreversible.</p>
<p>"I...  Oh, it's nothing.  I just thought I'd make some--"</p>
<p>Hidden from view by the tall bar, Aerith dragged her tongue between Tifa's cunt lips.</p>
<p>"<em>AH!</em>"</p>
<p>This, Tifa thought, was almost unforgivable.  Tifa was no stranger to Aerith's insouciance, but surely--surely she couldn't mean to--</p>
<p>Barret's face went grim with worry.  "Stomachache?  It was that damn powdered milk, wasn't it?  Shit.  And I told Cid that stuff was nasty."</p>
<p>Tifa's knees trembled--with fear, certainly, and unbidden arousal, slick rushing between her lips at the coaxing of Aerith's tongue.</p>
<p>She looked down at Aerith, bewildered.</p>
<p>Aerith smiled sweetly.  She dove back in.</p>
<p>"Oh God," muttered Tifa, shaking.  "Why, why are you like this--"</p>
<p>"Huh?" said Barret, clueless.  "What?"</p>
<p>Tifa cleared her throat.  Her knuckles whitened on the bar.  She felt sweat sticking to her thighs, her hairline.</p>
<p>"Could you...could you do me a favor?" she rasped.</p>
<p>It was imperative that she get Barret out of here immediately.</p>
<p>"I--uh--don't feel so good," Tifa improvised.  "Could you go get Aerith?"</p>
<p>Barret scratched the scruff on his chin.  "Where is she, anyway?  She's usually the first one awake."</p>
<p>Aerith's tongue found Tifa's clit, barraging it in a long drag.</p>
<p>Tifa slammed her fist on the bar, biting her tongue to keep from screaming.</p>
<p>Barret jumped.  "Okay!  Alright, I'm going.  Jeez, you'd think I was a damn pariah!"</p>
<p>He straggled back out of the compartment, complaining that Marlene was the only one who loved him.</p>
<p>Tifa fisted her hand in Aerith's hair.  She thought she might very well die on the spot.</p>
<p>Aerith had the nerve to giggle.  The sound reverberated through Tifa's core, tugging at the dormant pleasure center there.  Her whole mouth pressed against Tifa's cunt.</p>
<p>The moment her tongue delved inside, Tifa collapsed.  She held fast to Aerith's shoulders, her knees knocking together.  She felt the floor beneath her rear.  She felt the warmth flooding her extremities, whiting out the lenses of her eyes.</p>
<p>Her heart was entirely too fast for her body.  She struggled to regain her sparse breath.</p>
<p>Aerith's face loomed over her, bright with victory.  Her lips were moist with Tifa's come.</p>
<p>"Four minutes!" Aerith announced, tapping her wristwatch.</p>
<p>Tifa wondered where she was going to find a new best friend.  The one she had now was clearly a health hazard.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Cosmo Canyon's beauty was comforting in its immutability.  Sweeping, sepia vistas swirled to a point at mountainous crags, cavernous mouths.  The morning sun stood on the observatory at the top.  Patchworks of ladders latticed the hillsides, huts teetering on the cliffs.</p>
<p>The group had barely taken a step when Cloud turned to Aerith, surprising Tifa.</p>
<p>"Um...so, what's the big surprise you've got planned?"</p>
<p>Aerith blinked very fast.  "I'm sorry?"</p>
<p>Tifa wanted to kick herself.  She ought to have come up with a better excuse for monopolizing Aerith's time.</p>
<p>Cloud shifted awkwardly on his feet.  "Your surprise...for Nanaki's birthday?"</p>
<p>Aerith was nothing if not cunning.  She must have known he had a reason for asking.  She smiled secretively.</p>
<p>"If I tell you," she hedged, "you'll ruin it."</p>
<p>They went with their friends up the myriad bridges winding around the mountain.  The air was smoky-sweet, dry against Tifa's face.  Out here, the world felt somehow more purposeful.  Nanaki's home was the domain of nature, the last of the untamed wilds.</p>
<p>Except for the pub in the heart of the mountain.  The Starlet Pub was unchanged since their travels, a literal hole in the wall.  A rusty ceiling fan pushed hot air around the room.</p>
<p>Vincent Valentine was unchanged, too.  He sat at the counter, as white as a ghost.  Tifa might have expected a friendly greeting from him.  She should have known better.  The moment he locked eyes with his old friends, he swept out of his seat, disappearing through the back door.</p>
<p>"Jerk," Yuffie muttered.</p>
<p>Nanaki padded out in his place.  His mane looked a little longer than Tifa remembered.  New beads were tangled in his fringe, moon-white and aquamarine.</p>
<p>He recoiled as though shocked.  Tifa was so happy to see him, she debated whether she could get away with a hug.</p>
<p>"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANAKI!" Yuffie yelled.</p>
<p>Nanaki gave her a solemn look.  "Oh, no."</p>
<p>Tifa decided not to push her luck.</p>
<p>The morning passed in a whirlwind of anecdotes, of friends relearning one another, or in Marlene's case, learning anew.  Blessedly patient, Nanaki did not begrudge her her epithets.  He even tolerated a pat on the nose from Aerith.  Tifa conceded he might have had a soft spot for her.  It was hard not to, given the way they had almost lost her.</p>
<p>Cid was cajoling Nanaki into trying alcohol ("He is a <em>child!</em>" Shera yelled) when Nanaki turned his back on the group.  He padded over to Tifa.  Everybody else was engrossed in Reeve's retelling of the fall of Junon.  He made it sound as if he had saved Barret and Tifa all by himself.</p>
<p>Nanaki nosed at Tifa's belly.  He lowered his voice.  "Are you...quite alright?"</p>
<p>The urge to hug Nanaki resurfaced.  "Just a little sleepy," Tifa said.  "How about you?  How does it feel being another year older?"</p>
<p>Nanaki wrinkled his nose.  "About the same as any other year."  He sniffed at the air.  "There's something..."</p>
<p>Tifa wondered whether food was burning in the kitchen.  Nanaki's sense of smell was leaps and bounds ahead of hers.</p>
<p>"You have a funny scent," said Nanaki.</p>
<p>Tifa was puzzled.  "That's strange.  I showered before I got here."</p>
<p>It hit her like a ton of bricks.  Nanaki must have been able to smell sex hormones.</p>
<p>Tifa wanted to crawl under the counter and die.</p>
<p>"I do hope you aren't sick," said Nanaki, who might have been a wizened parahuman, but proved, in that moment, that he really was a child.  "I always thought Mideel was too close to the Lifestream for comfort."</p>
<p>"Y-Yeah," Tifa choked.  "I mean, no.  I'm fine!  I'm just happy to see you."</p>
<p>Nanaki frowned--quite the feat, given his configuration.  "That is not your usual happy-to-see-Nanaki smell."</p>
<p>Tifa was about to ask just how many smells she had when Vincent resurfaced, announcing that the proprietress was making them lunch.  Tifa resigned herself to crawling under the counter at a later date.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>At night, everyone gathered around the Cosmo Candle, their favorite haunt of old.  The molten gold flames towered high above their heads, licking at the bottoms of the distant stars.  Nanaki sat back on his haunches, staring into the fire.</p>
<p>"It's bigger," he commented.  "It's been going that way for a while now.  Grandpa isn't sure why.  He says it's a good thing, but I don't think he knows for certain."</p>
<p>Cid took the cigarette out of his mouth.  "Shoot, doesn't that fire ever go out?"</p>
<p>"Never," said Nanaki.  "Not in the entire history of the Planet."</p>
<p>They stayed up late, talk turning to sleeping arrangements.  Cid said he didn't see why they couldn't sleep on the airship.  Yuffie insisted on sharing Nanaki's room.  Nanaki pointed out the inn upstairs from the pub had lodging, albeit limited.</p>
<p>"Dibs!" Aerith yelled.</p>
<p>Cloud gave her a strange look.</p>
<p>"What?  I want a bubblebath.  I haven't sat in a bathtub in ages."</p>
<p>She went on, "And neither has Tifa!  Right, Tifa?"</p>
<p>Reeve coughed very loudly.  He kept right on coughing, even after Cid thumped him on the back.</p>
<p>At this point, Tifa was going to need an army surplus of counters.</p>
<p>At Aerith's persuasion, Tifa went with her back to the pub.  Tifa was surprised by how exhausted she felt.  She was not much help while Aerith paid for their room key, or wrestled her into the big bathroom--or stripped her of her clothes and socks.  Aerith made her sit on the edge of the tub.</p>
<p>"You poor thing," said Aerith.  "I've been very hard on you, haven't I?"</p>
<p>"Very," said a groggy Tifa.  Her eyes fluttered closed.</p>
<p>Aerith rubbed her knee.  "Well, I'm going to give you a nice bath, and then we'll see about getting you into bed.  You'll feel better in the morning."</p>
<p>Tifa listened to the trickling of the tap water.  She spared a moment for the logistics of Cosmo Canyon's plumbing.</p>
<p>Her stomach inverted.  "I'm gonna be sick."</p>
<p>"Huh?" said Aerith.</p>
<p>Tifa leaned over the side of the bathtub.  She hearkened to nature's call.</p>
<p>Aerith turned the tap off.  She rubbed Tifa's back.  "They're going to charge us extra for that."</p>
<p>Tifa covered her mouth.  Her head was pounding.  "What did I <em>eat</em>?"</p>
<p>"Nothing that I didn't," said Aerith.  She sounded troubled.  "Maybe we should just get you to bed."</p>
<p>Tifa nodded.  Her head felt entirely too light for her shoulders.</p>
<p>Aerith perused Tifa.  She tapped on her lip.  "I wonder..."</p>
<p>"What?" Tifa croaked.</p>
<p>"Nothing," said Aerith.</p>
<p>Tifa was wide awake now.  She knew what it sounded like when Aerith was lying.</p>
<p>Aerith caved under the weight of her stare.  "Fine.  But you have to promise you won't get mad, okay?"</p>
<p>"What did you do to me?" Tifa asked.  "Am I dying?"</p>
<p>Aerith waved her hand.  "Nothing like that!"</p>
<p>She lowered her voice.  "But, well...I just assumed that I was the one who would be getting pregnant, right?  Remember, I don't really know how all of this works."</p>
<p>Tifa sat up, suspicions mounting.  "Aerith..."</p>
<p>"So it's entirely possible I was wrong...I mean, I don't know for certain--"</p>
<p>"Aerith--"</p>
<p>"Let's just say--just for argument's sake!--that you're pregnant.  You wouldn't mind too much, would you?"</p>
<p>Tifa stared at Aerith.  She stared some more.  She found herself thinking, not for the first time, that Aerith had completely upended her life.  She could not think of a single aspect of her life not thrown into social disarray.</p>
<p>"Tifa?  Sweetie?"</p>
<p>Tifa stood up.  She wobbled.  "Good night."</p>
<p>Aerith gave her a frightened look.  "Where are you going?"</p>
<p>"To pass out," said Tifa, determined.</p>
<p>She made it to the other side of the door, then remembered she wasn't wearing anything.  She turned around and marched back in the bathroom.</p>
<p>Aerith knelt down on the floor.  "Here," she said helpfully, patting her lap.</p>
<p>"Thanks," Tifa said.</p>
<p>She lay with her head on Aerith's lap.  She passed out.</p>
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